As far as the limits go (word counts, max RP limit per match, only 1 RP last day, etc), the person or people running a show are often the one(s) who will benefit the most from such limits... and that's really important for us to always be keeping in mind.

From the RPer perspective though, the limits are almost imaginary if you think about it. There's a large pool of people who would be able to formulate and hit the exact same quality/score in any given week no matter what limits you give them. Having the limits doesn't force you to write better quality... that only happens if you convince yourself of the illusion, and have previously convinced yourself that you're supposed to be lazy or sloppy in the absence of RP limits... That's the only reason you'd find yourself creating higher quality work as a result of limits.

One issue that always comes up when limits are used for more than just a brief stint, is the misconception that "hitting your max limit" in ANY way should be your goal or alternatively be your failure if you didn't reach the max RP mark. That's a huge problem because then some judges (especially guest judges) will start thinking "well if Robbie only hit 2 RPs and Vinnie hit 3 RPs this week, and their quality was about equal, let's just let the "sheer effort" category be what decides the winner"... and that becomes too easy of a way out for the judges sometimes. It's like nstead of getting out the magnifying glass, you'll want to just get out the scale. I've also seen the same thing happen many times in the past when it comes to word counts per RP.

I've discovered RP limits DO tend to work a lot better in multi-person matches. The bigger, the better. So for a 4 on 4 type of situation, it's perfect because some of the illusions about "hitting your max" are lessened in the group environment. It seems to become a much bigger deal when it's 1 on 1 and "person A" stresses themselves out all week trying to force out the "max limit" just to make sure they match their opponent who always hits the max limit. Limits can actually burn a person out faster, because remember, even ONE ROLEPLAY can beat somebody who posted multiple RPs if that ONE roleplay fully supplies relevance and other important elements better than any of the opponent's multiple RPs were able to do individually or combined. Now take that person who's great with 1 hit knockouts (or 2 hits/RPs) and put them in a match with a 4 RP limit. Pressure is now on that RPer to go beyond the number they usually do because now they're in a match where numbers matter. (even though they don't matter)

One day I would like to find a great solution for "reasonably limited" RPing that doesn't create even the slightest hint of belief that the actual numbers matter. Our anti-flood rules were a big step in that direction but I'm still working on coming up with an even better and more fluid system that will keep things easy AND fun not only for the judges but also for RPers with any availability.

I fell asleep in the middle of writing this. Good chance some of it doesn't make sense. lol